Top 8 - The Year You Were Born

Not a very strong night for our contestants. The real contenders are separating themselves from the rest of the pack. Based on last night's absolute train-wreck performance, I have to think that Scott will be getting his walking papers tonight. But it's risky to downplay the power of the sympathy vote he gets, so perhaps that leaves Lil or Anoop in danger.

Onward.
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Danny Gokey - "Stand By Me"

Vocal ability: 60
Consistency: 60
Versatility: 55
Star power: 55
Song choice: 55

It was good, but more and more it seems like he kind of does the same thing every week. Namely, he relies on a big, emotional finish to his performances to leave the impression that the entire thing was praiseworthy. He's always good, but really hasn't had a knockout performance to date. As I say every week, this formula works fine for him because he's such a popular contestant, but, on merit, he looks a bit less impressive with each passing week since there are fewer vastly inferior singers left in the field.
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Kris Allen - "All She Wants To Do Is Dance"

Vocal ability: 55
Consistency: 55
Versatility: 55
Star power: 55
Song choice: 50

Very mediocre performance tonight, especially vocally. He'd just been starting to change my mind, but this catapulted me back to my previous opinion that he's terribly overrated. Last week I thought maybe I could come around on him if he continued to show up with interesting arrangements that suit his average voice. But tonight he stumbled in every respect. I don't think one disappointing performance is enough to sink him, but this definitely was a step backward.
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Lil Rounds - "What's Love Got To Do With It"

Vocal ability: 60
Consistency: 55
Versatility: 55
Star power: 55
Song choice: 50

The judges were pretty spot on with their comments. She's a good singer, but she hasn't been impressive, and she certainly hasn't had any memorable performances. And I think that's just what it boils down to. She's good, but she doesn't know how to grasp at being great. It would be one thing if she tried something overly ambitious and had it go up in flames. At least then we'd know for sure that she has nothing more to offer than a series of pretty good performances. But the longer she decides to play it safe, the more certain we become that what once appeared "safe" is really just her best.
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Anoop Desai - "True Colors"

Vocal ability: 65
Consistency: 55
Versatility: 50
Star power: 50
Song choice: 55

He needs to keep things slowed down. He's a very good singer, but not a high-energy singer. This was smart, in that he went back to the kinds of performances that brought him back from the dead in the first place. But if this is the only kind of song he can nail, that's only going to keep him around for another week or two. If he played the piano or guitar, I think he could be a serious contender. His possesses a much better voice than Kris, Matt, and of course Scott. But whereas they can make a real impression by singing pretty well while also playing an instrument, Anoop is stuck strolling around the stage in low-energy performances. In the end, it means he's pretty one dimensional. I won't close the door on him entirely until he tries one more mid-to-high tempo song, but when he does, I don't think he'll pull it off.
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Scott MacIntyre - "The Search Is Over"

Vocal ability: 35
Consistency: 45
Versatility: 40
Star power: 40
Song choice: 40

A disaster. Cheesy and uncomfortable with absolutely abysmal vocals. I don't really want to spend much time writing about it. If you saw it, there's really nothing I need to add. The most perplexing thing about Scott continues to be the restraint the judges show when critiquing him. This would have looked bad in a high school talent show. Again, I wonder what the producers had to promise Simon to keep him from letting loose on this guy.
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Allison Iraheta - "I Can't Make You Love Me"

Vocal ability: 65
Consistency: 70
Versatility: 65
Star power: 60
Song choice: 60

She's the second-best singer in this competition, with nearly as much talent and none of the propensity for irritating theatricality of Adam. She's been good every week, and excellent on a number of occasions. Looking forward, it doesn't seem likely that she'll be able to keep us from an Adam vs. Danny final, mostly because she's already made two Bottom 3 appearances. But I won't count her out just yet, because I suspect she's working her way up people's lists as a second or third choice. And as the field shrinks, that kind of general support will matter as people's first choices gradually disappear. If she makes the top 5, which she absolutely deserves, then it will be time to really take her seriously.
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Matt Giraud - "Part Time Lovers"

Vocal ability: 55
Consistency: 50
Versatility: 55
Star power: 50
Song choice: 50

Umm, I guess because they were running out of time and didn't have enough time to let people boo if the judges said anything semi-negative. This just wasn't that good. Certainly not "absolutely incredible" as Kara described it. I guess he sort of got the Anoop treatment in that the judges hated what he did last week so much, that made it too easy to say nice things this week. There was one especially hideous note in there, but the rest was neither particularly good or bad.
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Adam Lambert - "Mad World"

Vocal ability: 70
Consistency: 70
Versatility: 70
Star power: 65
Song choice: 65

A standing ovation from Simon. Since I'm new this season, I'm not sure if that's ever happened before, but I'm going to guess that it hasn't. This was excellent, though I would say not quite as excellent as "Tracks Of My Tears" from a couple of weeks ago. I'm sure that's partly because that was the first time Adam decided to pull back, strip a song down, and just sing it to death. This was very similar, so there wasn't the same kind of shock and surprise at this performance. But, that said, it was haunting and beautiful, even if he did once again get the benefit of moodier stage lighting than anyone else. He remains the best.